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by Brian Tuck, Former District Governor for Rotary District 9910
Warkworth Rotary was formed in the mid-20th century at a time of a large expansion in the number of societies and voluntary organisations in New Zealand.
In 1962, a group of Warkworth businessmen and members of the professions met regularly with the intention of forming a Rotary Club in Warkworth. The young Rotary Club of Wellsford, formed two years before, was there to assist and encourage. Warkworth was admitted into Rotary International on 29 October, 1962 with 25 members. The Charter was presented to the club at a formal dinner in Warkworth Town Hall on 6 December 1962.
From its earliest days, the club was active both in its social life and its service to the community. For the first 40 years, it remained men only. Despite this, women affectionately known as Rotary Annes, were welcomed to the social and service side of the club. Women were admitted into Rotary in 1988, but it was not until 2006 that Warkworth finally inducted its first woman member, Shawn Bishop. Later, an Inner Wheel Club was formed for women with Rotary connections and this club worked closely with Rotary for many years.
Over the first two decades, the club gradually grew and increased its service activities and support to the community. For example, the club was active in the early organisation of the Kowhai Festival and ran events such as a Town Hall Ball and a trolley race down Hill Street. Opportunities were provided to young people through International Youth Exchange or adventure training courses such as Outward Bound. The international aspects of Rotary were served by welcoming groups of Rotarians on friendship exchanges and overseas vocational study teams. Funds needed for the community support and for youth were raised by projects such as a fishing competition and an arts and craft fair in the Warkworth Town Hall
From 1980 until the turn of the century, the club continued very much as it had been doing with a lively social side, support to the community and help and encouragement to youth.
However, the club did become more ambitious with fundraising and projects. The first Rotary Community Directory (the Phone Book) was compiled and published in 1982. This continued as a community service and fundraiser for 36 years, until the telephone listings were denied the club. In the mid-eighties, the other big source of funds was the annual Yacht Race. For 20 years until interrupted by hurricanes and lack of sponsorship, this annual event based at Mansion House, Kawau Island, provided hundreds of thousands of dollars, which were poured into local projects or causes.
The project planning also became more ambitious. In 1980, to mark 75 years of Rotary International, the community rooms and offices at Totara Park Retirement Village were planned, funded and built by the club, partly as a hands-on project. This continues to provide a facility for the village and for club use. Plans were drawn up for a Cultural and Community Centre to be built near Lucy Moore Park. Rodney Council did not approve the project and it lapsed although it was revived decades later on the riverside near the Masonic Hall. Although this plan was supported by Rodney Council it died due to lack of funding.
Other significant projects during this period were works at Camp Bentzon on Kawau Island and the Scout Hall in Shoesmith Street. Rotary Grove behind the tennis club in Shoesmith was also created during this time.
At the turn of the millennium, the character of the club began to change in response to changes in society. Warkworth Rotary now would hardly be recognised by those who worked so hard to set up the club. However, integrity, friendship and service remain the non-negotiables. But meetings became less formal and members were judged by what they did rather than how many evening meetings they attended. The first female president, Robin Dixon, took office in 2014 and in this 60th year, we have our second female president, Valda Kerekes.
Despite a decrease in membership, the club continued to support the community in its traditional way. Talented young people were given opportunities to go on youth exchange or attend other educational events organised by Rotary. The club has also supported young people with different challenges through Adults in Motion.
Sanitation projects have been undertaken in Vanuatu and various disaster relief causes in the Pacific were supported. Participation in town events continued and the annual Carols by Candlelight celebrated its 20th year.
A significant project organised during this period was the refurbishment of the old Warkworth Wellsford Hospice on Morrison Drive. Trust funds managed by Rotary had significantly contributed to purchase the site and buildings. Then, the club managed a hands-on project to convert two scruffy residential properties into a functional suite of offices with seminar rooms and an op-shop. This served hospice well until it moved to the new Tui House.
Today, the size of the club is much reduced, which is attributed to increased business and family commitments. Rotary also competes with the many other opportunities available for people to participate in town affairs. Covid 19 lockdowns were not kind to the club and interrupted its regular meeting and service programmes. However, new people are coming forward to join and are joined by members relocating to Warkworth and transferring from other clubs. Warkworth Rotary continues to provide opportunities and support for youth through various adventure courses such as Outward Bound and Spirit of Adventure, as well as the Model United Nations Assembly and the Rotary NZ Science and Technology Forum.
We also sponsor several schools in Trees for Survival. The Jane Gifford and Mahurangi restoration continue to be important to the club. An example of the continued service to the community is demonstrated by the monthly sausage sizzle, in conjunction with Barfoot and Thompson, which raises money for a different cause each month. The Food Rescue scheme which collects surplus products from supermarkets and producers and supplying needy families is ongoing.
The Club may be small, but it still contributes much to the community and provides an enjoyable social environment for members while doing it.
Celebrating in style
Warkworth Bowling Club will be all abuzz on the evening of November 5, as current and past members of the Rotary Club of Warkworth meet for a dinner to celebrate 60 years of Rotary service in Warkworth.
Warkworth is part of District 9910, which extends north from Auckland to Cape Reinga, as well as including Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island.
Distinguished guests from District 9910 will include District Governor Matt McLeod (Henderson), assistant District Governor Sally Cargill (Browns Bay) and District Governor-elect Neil Murray (Takapuna).
Other special guests will be the last president of the Wellsford Club, Suzy Sellars. There was always a special bond between Wellsford and Warkworth clubs as it was Wellsford, now defunct, that encouraged Warkworth to form club.
Les Wilmot, the sole surviving Charter Member, will also be present at the dinner.
The formal part of the evening will include a welcome to the guests, followed by a short message from the District Governor.
Finding a place for Rotary in a modern world
The future of Rotary in Warkworth lies in the community it serves, according to Warkworth Rotary president Valda Kerekes.
She says the community embraced the idea of Rotary 60 years ago, and as long as there are people wanting to serve their community, there is the opportunity for a Rotary presence in the town.
“There are many different ways to serve your community so the question may be, why Rotary?” she says. “My reply is that Rotary offers more than a chance for community service, it leads to other opportunities.”
As part of a team with a committee structure, where jobs are rotated within the membership, members can develop personal skills with training. These are skills that can be exported to other situations. For example, preparing a varied programme involves choosing activities and speakers which expand the planner’s horizons and puts them in touch with people and areas they often know nothing about. Research and planning skills can be used elsewhere.
Then there is getting to know others socially and networking, as members come from a wide range of backgrounds. The opportunities to serve are endless and diverse – currently this includes Food Rescue, Carols By Candlelight and providing dictionaries in schools.
An important part of Rotary is directed at developing the youth of today. Rotary supports the RYDA road safety education programme delivered through schools, RYLA weekend leadership training for older young people, and the annual Science Forum.
Kerekes says that while the club has changed with the times, members still enjoy meetings and outings.
The Sergeant at Arms still collects fines for real and imagined misdemeanors, filling the coffers of the Sunshine Fund, which provides things such as reading glasses for children whose family cannot afford them.
“However, it seems this format does not appeal to younger people, so change is needed.”
Kerekes says the future of the Warkworth club relies on attracting keen young people, who see the community and its needs through different eyes because they are out and about in places that older members do not even know about.
“Young people will bring new ideas and new ways for a new generation of Rotarians. They will need the freedom to develop a form of Rotary foreign to many existing members, and sometimes separately from us – a club within a club.”
However, the values set down 100 years ago will still apply. They build and enhance relationships in business, in clubs and in families.
Rotarians are underpinned by the Four Way Test:
• Is it the truth?
• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
• Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Broadening young people’s horizons
One of the best known programmes for young people is Rotary’s International Exchange Student Programme.
Year 12 or 13 students, sponsored by Rotary, can apply to study overseas for a year and at the same time act as ambassadors for their club and country. They are placed in the care of a Rotary club chosen from a list of countries available and stay with three or four different families.
There are challenges for all – for the parents letting them go, for host parents easing the student into their house rules, and for the student adapting to their new environment, and sometimes having to learn a different language. But overcoming challenges brings its own reward and they come back ready for the next step in their lives. Having been an exchange student also opens doors to university, careers and jobs.
In the past 60 years, there have been around 50 outward bound exchange students from Warkworth.
The first went in 1969. Between then and 1985, most exchanges were to USA, with a couple each to Canada and Brazil. After 1985, an increasing number went to Sweden, Finland, Central Europe and Argentina.
Canada and USA provided half of the 34 inbound students, while Belgium, Finland, Denmark, France, West Germany and Argentina made up the balance.
Fifteen students took part in the Twin Exchange programme with Australia. This was a family to family exchange. It was designed for 14 to 16 year old students to experience a true “exchange” with a family in the other country.
Australian students arrived in New Zealand and attended school with their matched student during Term 2. Both students returned to Australia and attend the Australian student’s school during Term 3.
Susan Buddo, from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, was an exchange student to Warkworth in 1982/83. She was hosted by David and Margaret Cross, Graham and Jenny Noakes and Valda and Mike Smith. When Buddo returned home she graduated, married and had two boys. She now works with an industrial health and safety organisation in a town close to Banff. She and her husband, Matt, visited New Zealand in February 2020 to reconnect with her host families, demonstrating the close and sometimes long-lasting connection between students and their host families. It is not uncommon for students to come back and visit, or for parents and host parents to visit each other.
Less common is a student going back and settling in the country where they went on exchange. But that’s exactly what Warkworth’s Scott Cummings (1985) did. He returned to Japan, married and settled there.
While club membership remains low, participation in the exchange programme is limited. However, the Warkworth Rotary Club looks forward to the time when it will again be able to offer this opportunity to local teenagers.
